Diagnosis Of Patience
Jennifer came to me several failed visits and
theripys through out her teen
years. She had, like it past reports complained
of "always feeling worried
and anxious". She often talked on how going out to
social settings and
relationships was so difficult. Believing that it was her
fate to always be
alone. She felt very uncomfortable around crowds as if they
would turn on her in
angry or disapproval. Jennifer had came to me after a
referral from a mutual
friend of mine. One that she had built a friendship
with the current job that
she had worked continuously for 2 yrs. Past
History: Talking about her past
relationships, I found she hadn't been
intimate with any single person in over
six yrs. That all had failed within 3
moths. Most of her broken relationships
were because she felt mistrust, and a
feeling that "they were trying to
pull something over on me, and I (Jennifer)
was so afraid of being hurt".
Often, making quick calls and predictions
to the short-term future, she thought
it was best to "run away." Jennifer's
body language showed of an act.
Working in the pubic she had taught
herself to act how she viewed as normal.
There was difficulty in eye
contact, almost as if she was fighting not to look
away. Observing her petite
frame, it was on that Turning around I viewed her
expressions threw a mirror
on the wall, becoming untensed and looking down, it
was an action of a person
being gratefully relived. After building a strong
foundation over several
months, I begun slowly taking her back to her teen
years. I found when
Jennifer was 15 years of age; she had become intimate with a
17-year-old
male. This relationship had lasted for two years. During the
relationship,
she told of constily being put down, that it wasn't nothing
physical but all
mental. She told of several experiences of that the male had
look outside
their relationship for other sexual gradifications, even so far to
involve
the majority of her trusted female friends. Jennifer spoke with tremble
in
her voice as she recalls certain personal situations. The short stories
were
that of deceit and humiliation. Identifying Systems: Social Phobia is
the marked
and persistent fear of one or more social or performance
situations in which the
person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible
scrutiny by others. The
individual fears that he or she will act in a way (or
show anxiety symptoms)
that will be humiliating or embarrassing. Exposure to
the feared social
situation almost invariably provokes anxiety, The person
recognizes that the
fear is excessive or unreasonable. The feared social or
performance situations
are avoided or else areendured with intense anxiety or
distress. The avoidance,
anxious anticipation, or distress in the feared
social or performance situation
interferes with the person's normal routine,
occupational functioning, or social
activities or relationships, or there is
marked distress about having the
phobia. If you suffer from social phobia,
you tend to think that other people
are very competent in public and that you
are not. Small mistakes you make may
seem to you much more exaggerated than
they really are. Blushing itself may seem
painfully embarrassing, and you
feel as though all eyes are focused on you. You
may be afraid of being with
people other than those closest to you. Or your fear
may be more specific,
such as feeling anxious about giving a speech, talking to
a boss or other
authority figure, or dating. The most common social phobia is a
fear of
public speaking. Sometimes social phobia involves a general fear of
social
situations such as parties. More rarely it may involve a fear of using
a
public restroom, eating out, talking on the phone, or writing in the
presence of
other people, such as when signing a check. Although this
disorder is often
thought of as shyness, the two are not the same. Shy people
can be very uneasy
around others, but they don't experience the extreme
anxiety in anticipating a
social situation, and they don't necessarily avoid
circumstances that make them
feel self-conscious. In contrast, people with
social phobia aren't necessarily
shy at all. They can be completely at ease
with people most of the time, but
particular situations, such as walking down
an aisle in public or making a
speech, can give them intense anxiety. People
with social phobia are aware that
their feelings are irrational. Still, they
experience a great deal of dread
before facing the feared situation, and they
may go out of their way to avoid
it. Even if they manage to confront what
they fear, they usually feel very
anxious beforehand and are intensely
uncomfortable throughout. Afterwards, the
unpleasant feelings may linger, as
they worry about how they may have been
judged or what others may have
thought or observed about them. Treatment: About
80 percent of people who
suffer from social phobia find relief from their
symptoms when treated with
cognitive-behavioral therapy or medications or a
combination of the two. The
first approach to treatment of social anxiety
disorder usually involves the
prescription of a drug by a physician. Typically
Xanax is prescribed for
situational relief. Inhibitor such as (Paxil) is used to
target the
biological production and/or absorption of serotonin. Therapy may
involve
learning to view social events differently; being exposed to a
seemingly
threatening social situation in such a way that it becomes easier
to face; and
learning anxiety-reducing techniques, social skills, and
relaxation techniques.
The prognosis for diagnosed social phobias is
excellent, with a reported 90% of
treated patients experiencing a significant
reduction in symptoms. Cognitive
Behavior Therapy is a psychological
treatment, which trains anxious people to
overcome their fear through the
practice of a variety of exercises and coping
techniques. With social
anxiety, group therapy is especially effective in that
clients have the
opportunity to practice their learning in a safe and
sympathetic environment.
CBT usually begins with a study of the disorder,
examining the situations
that provoke the anxiety and the accompanying somatic
symptoms. The
educational process sets the understanding for training in skills
to
alleviate and eventually conquer social phobia. These skills
include
relaxation techniques, diaphragmatic breathing, and the cognitive
restructuring
of distorted and negative thinking that contribute to social
anxiety and
exposure to situations that precipitate anxiety. . Prognosis:
Beginning within
months Jennifer showed great improvements. With the proper
dosage adjustments
and therapy, she was able maintain and over come many of
her fears. Jennifer now
attends monthly group sessions that she feels are
most important. The
prescription of Xanax has gradually been reducing to
lower dosages, as she feels
less more dependants. The Paxil has, however has
been reduced, she found a
noticeable change when reducing consumption. But
with support threw CBT and
group therapy she feels more confiendent in
herself in finding out how to life a
structured life around "had have" social
phobia.